Economic Crisis 2008–09

Blogs by date

• Secondary Sources: Overvalued Cities, Fed and Mortgages, Recession Jobs (January 29, 2010)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  Fed Mortgage Buys: On voxeu, Johannes Stroebel and John Taylor say the Fed’s purchases on mortgage backed securities have had little effect. “Should the Fed scale back its ownership of mortgage-backed securities? . . .
• Making Banks Too Small to Succeed? (January 25, 2010)
  Sphere (aol.com)
  by David R. Henderson
  this blog mentions Charles Calomiris
  On Thursday, the Obama administration introduced its proposal for dealing with the "too big to fail" problem for banks. . . .
• The GAO Audit of the Fed's AIG Bailout: Toward Increased Transparency? (January 20, 2010)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  Today's letter from Ben Bernanke to the GAO stating that the Fed would "welcome a full review by GAO of all aspects of our invlovment in the extension of credit to AIG" is a step in the right direction. . . .
• More on "Too Low For Too Long" (January 13, 2010)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  Much continues to be written this week about whether interest rates were too low for too long in the period 2003-2005. . . .
• Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Gets Started (January 4, 2010)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  Today the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission announced its first public hearing, which will start at 9 am on January 13 and continue through January 14. The topic: Causes and Current State of the Financial Crisis. . . .
• Should the Fed Remain Independent? (December 8, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Neither former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan nor the present Chairman Ben Bernanke anticipated the financial crisis that erupted in 2008. . . .
• Is the Fed to Blame for Asset Bubbles? (December 7, 2009)
  Fox Business News
  this blog features David R. Henderson and Todd Zywicki
  When the housing bubble burst, it flattened investor portfolios across the country. . . .
• A question for Andrew Lo (December 4, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  The taxpayers ended up paying the price, not the risk-takers. . . .
• Playing with our money (November 30, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  If creditors know they’ll be bailed out, aggressive investors borrow from them, leveraging their returns and paying themselves a lot of money along the way, justified by the short-term profits. . . .
• Heads they win, tails we lose (November 30, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  I want to get rid of government rescues. . . .
• Be Thankful But Study What Happened (November 30, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  With the consumption data released today--the day before Thanksgiving--we are reminded to give thanks that retail sales are at least growing not declining sharply as they were a year ago. . . .
• How to Increase Employment (November 30, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  During this "Great Recession", unemployment has risen from under 5% at the beginning of the recession in December of 2007 to more than double that rate to reach its highest level so far in October of 10.2%. . . .
• New Evidence of Government Induced Risk (November 23, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  A good way to assess this impact on risks is to look at the spread between interest rates on subordinated debt and senior debt at Fannie or Freddie. . . .
• Pick Your Stimulus (November 19, 2009)
  American
  this blog includes quotes from Michael J. Boskin
  My esteemed colleague David Frum recently weighed in on the stimulus debate, defending Republicans who supported President Obama earlier in the year. . . .
• The Road Ahead for the Fed (November 13, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  this blog includes quotes from George P. Shultz
  Stories this week in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Washington Post focus on how Senator Chris Dodd's new financial reform bill threatens the independence of the Federal Reserve. . . .
• Almost nothing (November 12, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  A very illuminating story on “jobs saved.” . . .
• Looter (November 11, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  When losses are truncated by bailouts, you get anti-social risk-taking. . . .
• Productivity and Jobs (November 9, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Last week two pieces of news about the American economy were disclosed, with important implications for where the economy is going. . . .
• Government Failure versus Market Failure (November 4, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  My Forbes magazine column this week reviews the latest empirical evidence on why government actions and interventions--government failure rather than market failure--should be at the top of the list of what went wrong in the recent financial crisis...
• National Accounts Show Stimulus Did Not Fuel GDP Growth (November 2, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  this blog mentions John F. Cogan
  Along with the news that real GDP growth improved from -0.7 percent in the second quarter to 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released detailed National Income and Product Account tables yesterday, which received little comment in the press today...
• Fiscal Imprudence and Fiscal Stimulus (November 2, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  The government's preliminary estimate of the growth in American GDP during the third quarter of 2009 is an impressive annual rate of 3.5%...
• Did the Stimulus Work? (November 2, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Russell Roberts
  Many economists attribute the rise in the gross domestic product in the third quarter to the $787 billion federal stimulus package approved in February...
• The stimulus is a joke (October 30, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  The theme of this story is that a recent government report overstated (surprise!) the number of jobs “saved or created” by the stimulus spending...
• Obama’s bad economic bet may ruin Democrats (October 30, 2009)
  Reuters
  this blog includes quotes from Robert J. Barro
  The anemic third-quarter U.S. GDP report is another indication that President Barack Obama’s economic gamble may yet fail to pay off...
• Ending Government Bailouts As We Know Them (October 28, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  Fears of potential damage from the failure of a large financial institution has created a bailout mentality in which the U.S. government has committed many billions of dollars, intervened in the operations of scores of private firms, and caused excessive risk-taking...
• Despite claims, data continue to show small impact of stimulus (October 26, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  this blog mentions John F. Cogan
  Debate about the impact of the $787 billion stimulus continued this week...
• Pay Controls Once Again (October 26, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  this blog mentions Jonathan Macey
  I sympathize with all the people who are upset by the very large bonuses, stock options, and other compensation received by heads of some financial institutions that ran their companies into the ground through bad investments...
• Give the Money Back! (October 23, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  This (HT: Drudge) is the weirdest story of the year:...
• Buttonwood Conference Update (October 19, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog includes quotes from Niall Ferguson
  Friday I was at day 2 of the Economist’s Buttonwood Gathering, a conference on “fixing finance”...
• Words from the Wise? (October 19, 2009)
  ForexHound.com
  this blog includes quotes from Niall Ferguson
  I just got back from The Economist's "Buttonwood Gathering" in New York and thought I'd share a few of the more interesting (and, in some cases, quite enlightening) quotes (in no particular order) from the movers-and-shakers at the (well attended) conference:...
• Q&A: John Taylor on His Rule and Fed’s Balance Sheet (October 14, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  interview with featured guest John B. Taylor
  John Taylor, Stanford University economist and Treasury Department official during the Bush administration, has been in the news of late for two reasons...
• Shovel Ready? (October 13, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  In the first eight months of the $787 billion “stimulus” package, the government has managed to spend about $111 billion, less than half of the funds that are available...
• Taking Stock at the Fed (October 12, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  Yesterday and today, three economists (Andrew Levin, Chris Erceg and Mike Kiley) who work on the staff of the Federal Reserve Board graciously hosted a big gathering of monetary economists from around the world...
• To Prevent Bubbles, Don’t Create Them (October 12, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  In their widely-cited Wall Street Journal column last week, Ian Bremmer and Nuriel Roubini argue that to prevent asset price bubbles in the future the Fed should focus on “properly calculating asset prices and the risk of asset bubbles according to the Taylor rule...
• Bank bailouts 'a threat to free markets' (October 9, 2009)
  ePolitix.com (UK)
  this blog features Niall Ferguson
  Niall Ferguson has said a new Conservative government must make it a priority to deal with financial institutions that have become "too big to fail"...
• Robert Barro on the Impotence of Stimulus (October 9, 2009)
  ThinkMarkets (NYU)
  this blog features Robert J. Barro
  In an interesting opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Robert Barro and Charles Redlick give empirical evidence supporting the claim that stimulus spending doesn’t work...
• Wall Street bailouts: Business as usual (October 8, 2009)
  USA Today
  by Peter Schweizer
  Economics professor Allan Meltzer once said, "Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin."...
• Recalculating (October 6, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Krugman insults Arnold Kling (HT: THM) But what none of the participants in the debate seem to realize is that Arnold is basically reinventing 1934 macroeconomics...
• The Dems' poisonous cocktail (October 6, 2009)
  Power Line
  this blog features Peter Schweizer
  One would think that at least two lessons would have been learned from the financial crisis: stop pushing loans to people who cannot or will not pay them back and stop offering loans with "flexible underwriting criteria."...
• Looking for your help (skin in the game) (October 2, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  I’m looking for some help from anyone with knowledge of life in the investment bank world...
• Didn’t they really have skin in the game? (October 2, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Joshua, in the comments to this post, asks the excellent question: My understanding is that the Wall Street guys had large fortunes in the stock of their companies...
• Fuld’s skin in the game (October 2, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  According to Seeking Alpha which cites Bloomberg, here are Richard Fuld’s stock sales of his Lehman stock...
• Union Power in the Obama Administration (September 28, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  The major American trade unions, including the United Automobile Workers, the United Steelworkers, and the Service Employees International Union, went all out in their support of Barack Obama during the past presidential election...
• The Real Anniversary (September 28, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  Two weekends ago the big news was the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the ensuing panic...
• Keynesian economics (September 25, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Richard Posner has read Keynes’s General Theory so you don’t have to. He does a superb job of summarizing (HT: Greg Mankiw) what Keynes actually said...
• Why Triple IMF Resources Now? (September 24, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  this blog mentions Kiron K. Skinner
  As the G20 Leaders travel to Pittsburgh this weekend they should reconsider their April 2 decision “to treble the resources available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to $750 billion.”...
• The Crisis: A Failure or a Vindication of Economics? (September 23, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  Today was the first lecture of thirty-five or so lectures I will give this fall in Stanford’s Economics 1, the namesake of this Blog...
• Is the Stimulus Working? (September 23, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  this blog mentions John F. Cogan
  My recent Wall Street Journal column with John Cogan and Volker Wieland looked at the data available so far and concluded that there has been no noticeable impact...
• When Stimulus Is No Stimulus (September 18, 2009)
  Cato Institute
  this blog features John F. Cogan and John B. Taylor
  The Obama administration has been touting its wasteful “stimulus” package as the answer to the recession...
• How Much Should We Care About Government Deficits? (September 16, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Deficits arise when government spending exceeds the revenues raised from various taxes...
• Details (September 16, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  I have removed my post from earlier today, quoting and discussing a New York Times story about Obama’s speech about Wall St...
• Why Wall Street Reforms Have Stalled (September 14, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Russell Roberts
  One year ago next week, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, Merrill Lynch was sold and A.I.G. was rescued by a huge federal bailout...
• What caused the financial crisis? (September 11, 2009)
  Power Line
  this blog features John B. Taylor
  It was right around this time last year that the financial crisis became a panic that brought down some of Wall Street's giants and caused market conditions in general to deteriorate so dramatically...
• The Case Against Intervention (September 11, 2009)
  Weekly Standard
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  The government is too involved in the recovery of our economy...
• Productivity, Unemployment, and the End of the Recession (September 10, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  On October 7, 2008 I wrote an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal ("We're Not Headed for a Depression") in which I said there would not be a depression, certainly nothing at all resembling the Great Depression of the 1930s...
• Friedman vs. Bernanke, II (September 10, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  As noted in my previous post on this, Tyler Cowen and I have converged: we agree that Bernanke's and Friedman's views on the causes of the Great Depression differed and that, although there is some ambiguity, there is no clear evidence that Friedman would have favored the Paulson-Bernanke bailouts...
• What We’ve Learned: Incentives Matter, Even to the Irrational (September 9, 2009)
  New York Times
  this blog mentions Gary S. Becker
  With the anniversary of the failure of Lehman Brothers approaching, we asked each of our Daily Economists to explain what we’ve learned from the financial crisis...
• Friedman vs. Bernanke (September 8, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  In the back and forth between Tyler Cowen and me, with a lot of heavy hitters commenting, we have actually made progress...
• In defence of the free market, by Gary Becker (September 8, 2009)
  Telegraph (UK)
  this blog features Gary S. Becker
  Reports of my death, the free market system might say if it had a physical voice, have been greatly exaggerated...
• Tyler Cowen, Milton Friedman, and Bailouts (September 1, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  In my responses (here and here) to Tyler Cowen's posts (here and here) on whether Milton Friedman would have supported the bailout of banks, I let myself be distracted by Tyler's use of the word "pretend."...
• A deck chair on the Titanic (September 1, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  In an incredibly misleading story that is making the rounds, the New York Times reports:...
• Research help on Fannie and Freddie (September 1, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  I am hoping someone out there can help me on this or knows someone who can help me...
• More Regulation of Mortgages would Likely Hurt Consumers (August 31, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  No doubt many consumers made mistakes in their credit decisions during the past few years, perhaps especially in the mortgages they chose...
• Market Reaction to Stimulus Programs Largely Undeserved (August 28, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog includes quotes from Gary S. Becker
  Wednesday’s stronger-than-expected new home sales data was encouraging...
• Misery doesn't love free markets (August 27, 2009)
  National Post (Canada)
  this blog mentions Robert J. Barro
  In the wake of the panic of 2008, finger pointing has become fashionable...
• Tyler Cowen on Pretense (August 26, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  On his blog today, Tyler Cowen, who does not usually use harsh language, does use it when referring to libertarians...
• The Cash for Clunkers Program: A Bad Idea at the Wrong Time (August 25, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  The cash-for-clunkers program of the federal government began in late July, and will end this evening...
• IOUs for suckers (August 20, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Turns out it isn’t Cash for Clunkers...
• Just say no to unintended consequences (August 20, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  One of the unintended consequences of the cash for clunkers program is that it is hurting charities...
• Signs of Recovery (August 20, 2009)
  New York Times
  this blog includes quotes from Robert E. Hall
  A number of economists have started proclaiming that the recession is over, or at least that a recovery is just around the corner...
• Book on Fed’s Future Comes as Lawmakers Debate Just That (August 20, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog mentions John B. Taylor
  A new book on the future of the Federal Reserve comes at a pivotal moment for the central bank: the debate over how best to overhaul supervision of financial markets will intensify when lawmakers return from their August recess...
• Is the Recession Really Over? (August 20, 2009)
  Big Picture (Blog)
  this blog includes quotes from Robert E. Hall
  Not necessarily, according to at least two officials over at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)...
• "Pay teachers what they are worth (think six-figures)": An Interview with Rick Hanushek (August 19, 2009)
  Learning Matters
  interview with featured guest Eric Hanushek
  Economists, whether liberal or conservative, don’t think about education the way most educators do, and that’s healthy...
• Oh, about that U.S. economic recovery … (August 18, 2009)
  Reuters
  this blog includes quotes from Gary S. Becker
  What might stand in the way of a robust economic turnaround...
• Did Fed’s TAF Work? San Fran Fed vs. San Fran Fed (August 14, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  No one can say they enforce the party line at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank...
• A Summer Reading List (August 12, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog mentions John B. Taylor
  As summer kicks into high gear, we asked a handful of professionals across the private equity world, including limited partners, general partners, placement agents, attorneys and academics, to provide us with their summer reading picks...
• The U.S.'s Deficit Dilemma (August 12, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog mentions Niall Ferguson
  We have emphasized a certain type of dilemma for policymakers...
• Secondary Sources: Recovery?, Consumer Protection, Climate Change (August 11, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog mentions Gary S. Becker
  Recovery?: Writing for Fed Watch, Tim Duy see recovery, just not a strong one...
• The World Recession is Ending: What Next? (August 10, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  The latest output and unemployment figures for the United States indicate that the recession in this country is very probably finally over, given the usual definitions of the turning points of recessions...
• Ninety Six Billion (and counting) (August 10, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  From Yahoo news (HT: Drudge): The mounting price tag for the rescue of Fannie and its goverment-sponsored sibling, Freddie Mac, is surpassed only by insurer American International Group Inc., which has received $182.5 billion in financial support from the government so far...
• The future (August 10, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  I find it fascinating that everyone assumes the economy is on its way to recovering...
• Quiz for Clunkheads (August 4, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Imagine you’re a member of Congress...
• Mediterranean Reflections on What Went Wrong (July 31, 2009)
  Works and Days
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  Italy…I have been traveling as a lecturer on a Hillsdale College Byzantium Cruise (from Venice to Athens, with several stops in the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Aegean) for the last few days, and here are some eccentric reflections on civilizations of the past...
• Awkward story for Barney Frank (July 31, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  This is an awkward story for Barney Frank...
• The Race Is on for School Reform (July 31, 2009)
  US News and World Report
  this blog includes quotes from Michael J. Petrilli
  President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently held a conference with some of the country's leading education stakeholders and decision makers to announce a new federally subsidized school grant competition for all 50 states and the District of Columbia...
• When to Let a Bank Fail (July 17, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Russell Roberts
  The CIT Group, one of the nation’s largest commercial lenders serving a million small and midsized companies, is on the verge of collapse...
• Video: Ferguson's The Ascent of Money (July 17, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog features Niall Ferguson
  Niall Ferguson’s book, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, is now available in a full-length four-part documentary...
• Petition for Fed Independence (July 16, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog mentions Daron Acemoglu and Robert E. Hall
  The following is a petition calling for a commitment to Fed independence: Open Letter to Congress and the Executive Branch...
• The War Against the Producers (July 13, 2009)
  Works and Days
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  A “stimulus” of nearly a trillion dollars was proposed, without which we were told, unemployment would skyrocket and credit would tighten further...
• Three reflections on the economy (July 13, 2009)
  Atlanta Journal Constitution
  this blog mentions Edward Paul Lazear
  As you consider whether we need another economic stimulus package, there are three commentaries you might want to take a look at...
• Two Authorities on Fed Warn Against Expanding Role (July 10, 2009)
  New York Times
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  Two economists with longstanding ties to the Federal Reserve warned Congress on Thursday that it would be a mistake to make the Fed a super-regulator in charge of reining in “systemic risk” and financial institutions considered “too big to fail,” The New York Times’s Edmund L. Andrews reported...
• Reflation Rally Stalls: The Key Now Is Second Quarter Guidance (July 10, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog mentions Edward Paul Lazear
  The twin engines of monetary and fiscal stimulus are stalling, and so is the reflation rally they created...
• John Taylor: Set Regulations "Other Countries Can't Thwart" (July 9, 2009)
  Newsweek
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  It's still up in the air whether the worst of the financial crisis has passed...
• What's The Best Use Of Stimulus Money? (July 1, 2009)
  National Journal
  by Chester E. Finn Jr.
  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contained more than $100 billion for education, including $40 billion to stabilize state education budgets and $5 billion in discretionary money for incentive grants...
• The Ascent of Money Brings The Economic Crisis Down to Earth on PBS (June 30, 2009)
  About.com
  this blog features Niall Ferguson
  Money rules!...
• Obama Care Isn’t Inevitable (June 30, 2009)
  Texas Insider.org
  this blog mentions Scott W. Atlas
  While still good, President Barack Obama’s political health is deteriorating, threatened by what he thought would be balm — his ambitious plan for a government takeover of health care...
• President Obama's Financial Reform Package (June 29, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Since the document laying out the President's financial reform package is 88 pages, I will concentrate my evaluation on a few basic issues.
• Thoughts on a Schizophrenic Society (June 29, 2009)
  Works and Days
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  I was watching cable television about 5 PM on a Friday night, channel surfing between commercials on the Western station...
• The car market (June 24, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  There have been a few regulations over time...
• Fed Chief Works to Secure More Power for Agency (June 24, 2009)
  New York Times
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  During the debate over financial regulation, the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, has been surprisingly quiet...
• New financial regulations (June 17, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  I don't get it (from Yahoo): Securitization, or the packaging and selling of loans as securities, has been blamed by critics for eroding lending standards in the mortgage and other lending businesses...
• Fed Study Raises Doubt About Economy’s Slack (June 16, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog mentions John B. Taylor
  A study by a senior Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco researcher raises new questions about whether inflation will fall as much as some economists expect...
• The Fatal Conceit: A Pay "Czar" (June 15, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  This week the Obama administration, acting through Secretary of the Treasury Geithner, appointed a pay czar to review, reject, and possibly set the pay of companies that received large amounts of federal assistance during the financial crisis...
• The Einstein of compensation (June 12, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Congress is thinking of "reining in" executive pay (HT: Drudge Report)...
• Duncan talks the talk but can he walk the walk? (June 11, 2009)
  Flypaper (Fordham Education Blog)
  by Michael J. Petrilli
  I finally watched Charlie Wilson’s War last night (we have a toddler at home; we’re not in the movie-theater stage of our life!)...
• The Sound and the Fury of Bond Market Vigilantes (June 10, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog mentions Niall Ferguson and John B. Taylor
  In Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote “Life is but a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”...
• Still probably right but for the wrong reasons (June 8, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Innocent Bystanders has updated the graph (HT: Zev Fredman) using the May numbers:...
• What's working (June 4, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  There are signs that the economy might be recovering...
• Moe, Larry, and Curly? (June 3, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  The New York Times reports under this photo: Representative Barney Frank, and Senators Charles E. Schumer and Christopher J. Dodd would play critical roles guiding the administration’s financial overhaul through Congress...
• Not so risky (June 3, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  From the New York Times: President Obama will push General Motors into bankruptcy protection on Monday, making a risky bet that by temporarily nationalizing the onetime icon of American capitalism, he can save at least a diminished automaker that is competitive...
• Lionel Barber’s pick of the week (June 3, 2009)
  Financial Times
  this blog mentions John B. Taylor
  Introduction: General Motors moves inexorably toward bankruptcy; North Korea explodes a nuclear device; Microsoft and Google go head-to-head on search; oil prices continue to rise on the back of a grudging economic recovery; and more British MPs, embarrassed by their expenses, signal they will stand down after the next election...
• The more the better, right? (June 2, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  The AP reports (HT: Drudge): White House spokesman Robert Gibbs is declining to say what it cost for President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, to eat dinner and take in a play in New York over the weekend...
• No U.S. Housing Bear Market Bottom Until 2011 (June 2, 2009)
  Market Oracle (U.K.)
  this blog features John B. Taylor
  In fantasy novels the intrepid heroes come across a sign saying "This Way Be Dragons."...
• Remember how urgent it was? (June 1, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  The stimulus package was signed into law February 17th with great urgency and fanfare...
• Massively higher U.S. spending driving up government’s interest rate (May 29, 2009)
  Washington Examiner
  this blog mentions John B. Taylor
  In the first years of the Clinton administration, James Carville famously said, “I used to think if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as the president or the pope or a .400 baseball hitter...
• Inflation Could Be Coming To A U.S. Dollar Near You (May 26, 2009)
  CBN News
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told CBS News in March that he saw "green shoots" of economic recovery beginning to sprout, including in mortgages and business lending...
• Understanding what happened (May 22, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  I am scheduled to interview Riccardo Rebonato tomorrow for EconTalk...
• The Inflation Threat Is Real (May 21, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  From Wikipedia: Taylor rule is a monetary-policy rule that stipulates how much the central bank would or should change the nominal interest rate in response to divergences of actual inflation rates from target inflation rates and of actual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from potential GDP...
• Nothing Special About That Election (May 20, 2009)
  San Francisco Chronicle
  by Bill Whalen
  To borrow a line from Enid Strict, aka Dana Carvey's Church Lady: "well, isn't that special?"...
• Niall Ferguson: Regulation Can't Be The Solution (May 19, 2009)
  Business Insider (NY)
  this blog features Niall Ferguson
  Before we dive in wholeheartedly into a new world of financial regulation (all of which will be a backwards looking response to this crisis) we should at least have some realistic expectations about how well it could possibly work...
• How the world really works (May 18, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Is it a good idea to have medical records stored in electronic form rather than paper?...
• Bad Prediction, Bad Graphics (May 18, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  A number of people have sent me versions of this graph that Greg Mankiw has now noted...
• Secondary Sources: Bankers, Regulation, Potential Growth, U.S. Stress (May 18, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog features Niall Ferguson
  Regulation: Writing for the New York Times, Niall Ferguson looks at the role of regulation in the financial crisis...
• Eavesdrop on Milton Friedman’s Heirs (May 15, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog mentions Gary S. Becker
  One university after another is convening panels of experts to make sense out of the once-in-a-generation financial crisis...
• The Grappler (May 14, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  From USA Today: For a guy grappling with recession, bank and auto bailouts, and record-setting budget deficits, President Obama also has a longer-term headache: The worsening financial condition of Social Security and Medicare as the Baby Boomers age...
• The Government Continues to Mess with Monetary Policy (May 14, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog features John B. Taylor
  On April 27th the Administration buzzed Manhattan with an F-16 and a Boeing 747...
• Green Shoots Story Looking a Little Tired (May 14, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  Federal Reserve policymakers are working overtime to temper expectations of additional quantitative easing...
• Another Yo-Yo Day For Stock Markets (May 13, 2009)
  Market News International
  this blog features John B. Taylor
  A lacklustre, see-saw day of modest gains for the blue chip Dow, while the Nasdaq felt some pain...
• What Can the Credit Crisis Teach Us About Flu Pandemics? (May 12, 2009)
  New York Times
  this blog mentions Gary S. Becker
  Long before swine flu hit, Timothy Geithner testified to Congress about the danger of a strange new epidemic...
• Is there life after the crisis? (May 12, 2009)
  TPM Cafe (Blog)
  this blog mentions Niall Ferguson
  A lunch time talk by Niall Ferguson suggests a grim picture...
• Colin Robertson: Ottawa needs a permanent pro-Canada campaign in Washington (May 12, 2009)
  National Post (Canada)
  this blog includes quotes from George P. Shultz
  When Barack Obama looks out the window from the White House, chances are he sees the swing and play set for Malia and Sasha, just one of the changes made by the new residents at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...
• The Serious Conflict in the Modern Conservative Movement (May 11, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  The roots of conservatism go back to philosophers of the 17 and 18th centuries, such as John Locke, David Hume, and Adam Smith...
• How Job-Findings, Not Job-Loss, Explain Unemployment (May 7, 2009)
  New Republic
  this blog includes quotes from Robert E. Hall
  Steven Greenhouse at the Times does a nice job putting a sunny spin on the job situation: Since November, the nation has lost more than three million jobs...
• For the record (May 6, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Paul Krugman notes that nominal wages are falling for some workers...
• Brooks channels Hayek (May 6, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  David Brooks, in this provocative critique of Republican Libertarianism, uses the insights of Hayek without mentioning him...
• Krugman vs. Ferguson: a Battle of Decades (May 4, 2009)
  Big Money (Blog)
  this blog includes quotes from Niall Ferguson
  So often discussion of economic policy drifts into "decade talk."...
• Will Quantitative Easing Work? (May 1, 2009)
  Seeking Alpha
  this blog mentions John B. Taylor
  Long-term bond yields around the world have been rising recently...
• Nothing New Under the Sun (April 30, 2009)
  Works and Days
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  Rather than nitpick about Obama’s envisioned brave new world, I think it wiser to see it in the larger context of age-old divides over the nature of Western democratic and liberal society...
• Nobel Laureates and Space Entrepreneurs Talk Shop (April 30, 2009)
  Entrepreneur Magazine
  this blog mentions Gary S. Becker
  Day two at the Milken Institute's 2009 Global Conference has wound down, and there's a lot to share...
• Gary Becker says markets aren't rational; endorses Yglesias approach to financial regulation (April 30, 2009)
  Time Magazine Online
  this blog features Gary S. Becker
  University of Chicago economist Gary Becker, in the midst of a mostly predictable analysis of the financial crisis and criticism of the Obama stimulus package at lunch at the Milken hoedown today, said a couple of interesting things: 1) Becker has built an estimable career around the notion that individuals generally respond rationally to economic incentives, even in areas not normally thought of as economic...
• Central Banks Cannot Easily Maintain their Independence (April 27, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Most richer nations nowadays, and many developing nations, have "independent" central banks, such as the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank...
• Timothy Geithner Doesn't Get It (April 22, 2009)
  Washington Post
  by Jonathan Macey
  Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made his first appearance before the Congressional Oversight Panel, which is one of the cadre of government-sponsored entities overseeing the massive bailout and recapitalization of the U.S. financial industry...
• Humility, Hope and the Financial Crisis (April 20, 2009)
  Christian Post
  this blog features Charles Calomiris
  Dr. Charles W. Calomiris, a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, has offered an interesting presentation on how we got into our current economic situation - and how biblically shaped virtues can help lead us out...
• Chutzpah (April 20, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  I know a lot of people don't look at the world the way I do...
• Global Scorecard for the Economic Slowdown (April 16, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog features Niall Ferguson
  Former World Bank chief James D. Wolfensohn and historian Niall Ferguson gave a gloomy assessment of the world economy and said that while the outlook for the U.S. is dim, that for Europe is far worse...
• Comments on the Efficiency of Stock Markets (April 14, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  It is very difficult for either amateur investors or even professional money managers to do better picking their own stocks than the performance of the major stock indexes, such as the US Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) or the Japanese Nikkei Index...
• Call For an Even More Explicit Inflation Commitment (April 14, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  this blog mentions Robert E. Hall
  Fears abound that the Federal Reserve’s economic recovery efforts may be setting the stage for a massive bout of inflation down the road...
• The Fed Needs to Make a Policy Statement (April 14, 2009)
  Financial Crisis and Recession (Blog)
  by Robert E. Hall
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  More and more one hears the concern that the Fed has embarked on an expansionary policy that will result in high inflation once the economy returns to normal...
• A parting question, before the holidays (April 13, 2009)
  Financial Times
  this blog includes quotes from Niall Ferguson
  It is the Easter break in Britain, and I am about to go on holiday...
• Is Geithner a Financial Genius? (No, Seriously) (April 13, 2009)
  American Thinker
  this blog includes quotes from Thomas Sowell
  Not long ago the press and politicians alike were singing the praises of the eminently qualified, uniquely equipped Treasury Secretary...
• Obama Channels Pelosi in Polarizing the Country (April 9, 2009)
  US News and World Report
  this blog mentions Michael J. Boskin
  Most folks I know like Barack Obama...
• Massive inflation in US, continuing denial in Europe (April 9, 2009)
  Examiner (DC)
  this blog mentions Niall Ferguson
  Kevin Phillips, author of Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism, has said that the decisions of former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and current and past Fed Chairmen Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan will lead the U.S. back to 1973 - 1975 inflation...
• Secondary Sources: Housing Bubble, Recovery, Inflation, Mark to Market (April 8, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog mentions Gary S. Becker
  A roundup of economic news from around the Web...
• Housing Prices and Consumption (April 6, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  The widespread and sharp rise in housing prices during the early part of this decade in the United States and many other countries is said to have contributed to the worldwide economic boom through wealth effects that induced greater consumption...
• President 50/50 (April 6, 2009)
  Works and Days
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  this blog mentions Josef Joffe
  The most successful practitioner of community organizing looks around for what he thinks is a problem, chastises both sides and allots absolutely equal blame, gives exalted moral lectures about compromise and understanding, and then waltzes away well paid, praised for his moderation, but having accomplished nothing...
• Hungary On The 'Brink of Ruin' (April 3, 2009)
  MSNBC
  this blog includes quotes from Niall Ferguson
  If anyone wonders how bad the economic crisis is in Europe, consider this: While shooting a story in Budapest, last week we parked our vehicle on a street in a part of town that has fallen on hard times...
• An Addendum on the Treasury's Plan to Buy Bank Assets (April 2, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  In my post on Sunday I gave an example to illustrate the Treasury's plan to buy the "toxic" assets of banks...
• The kosher bridge (April 1, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  It's kosher because it's not pork, at least that what the Mayor thinks...
• The man of system will now fix the auto industry (March 31, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  The President spoke today about his latest attempts to save the auto industry...
• Frenetic Fiddling (March 31, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  The White House, stung by the backlash of giving AIG money and then seeing it spent in the way that Washington and Main Street doesn't like, seems intent on not making the same mistake with the automakers...
• The Treasury's Plan to Buy Bank Assets (March 30, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  One good aspect of the Treasury's plan to enlist the private sector in buying mortgage-backed and other bank assets is that it reduces the uncertainty-if it is implemented! - about what the government plans to do further in aiding banks...
• Why the Geithner Plan Will Fail (March 27, 2009)
  Counter Punch
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  This week the Obama administration released the details of its plan to stimulate the flow of credit and reduce the cost of borrowing by subsidizing the purchase of mortgage and other debt-backed securities, the market for which has completely dried up since the onset of the crisis...
• Audacity without veracity (March 26, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Two highlights from last night's press conference with the President:...
• The new toxic and bad legacy assets programs of the US Treasury: surreptitiously squeezing the tax payer and the Fed until the PPIPs squeak (March 26, 2009)
  Financial Times
  this blog mentions John B. Taylor
  Ecce! The Public Private Partnership Investment Program (or should that be the Public-Private Investment Program?) is here, albeit not yet with quite enough information on some of the key practical details to make a full assessment...
• Taylor Rules (March 26, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  this blog includes quotes from John B. Taylor
  My book review of John Taylor's latest book, Getting Off Track, appeared on Forbes.com yesterday.
• John Taylor: Getting Off Track (March 25, 2009)
  Book Flap (Blog)
  this blog features John B. Taylor
  Kepler's was honored to have eminent economist, researcher, and scholar John B. Taylor speak at the store on March 3, 2009...
• Simplify the Tax Code? Who’s Kidding Who! (January 20, 2009)
  Thoughtful Ideas
  by Alvin Rabushka
  Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner will not be confirmed in time to take office once President-elect Obama is inaugurated...
• Infrastructure in a Stimulus Package (January 20, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Last week we blogged on how much stimulus to GDP and employment might be expected from a version of the Obama fiscal stimulus plan...
• On the Obama Stimulus Plan (January 12, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  If the government increased its spending on infrastructure when the economy has full employment, its main impact would likely be to draw labor, capital, and raw materials away from various other activities...
• Big Stimulus, Small Savings. Obama’s “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.” (January 9, 2009)
  Thoughtful Ideas
  by Alvin Rabushka
  Upon taking office, President-elect Obama hopes to sign a big stimulus package as soon as possible...
• Protecting Which Taxpayers? (December 19, 2008)
  Thoughtful Ideas
  by Alvin Rabushka
  Members of Congress, the White House, and the Treasury have been repeating the mantra of “protecting taxpayers” in the use of “bailout” funds, the $700 billion TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) enacted by Congress...
• Preventing Another Financial Crisis (December 17, 2008)
  Thoughtful Ideas
  by Alvin Rabushka
  Several scholars and journalists have recently criticized the application of mathematical models and high-powered econometrics to the purchase and sale of securities...
• Why the U.S. Federal Income tax is so Hard to Reform (December 16, 2008)
  Flat Tax
  by Alvin Rabushka
  Since President Reagan’s 1986 tax legislation, which broadened the tax base and lowered tax rates, every subsequent proposal to reform the federal income tax has come to naught...
• Why Bankruptcy is the Best Solution for American Auto Companies (December 15, 2008)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Posner gives an excellent and skeptical discussion of the negotiations over terms of the auto bailout...
• Putting Job Losses in Perspective (December 9, 2008)
  Thoughtful Ideas
  by Alvin Rabushka
  The U.S. economy lost 1.9 million jobs in the first 11 months of 2008, with December losses expected to push the total above 2 million...
• Central Bank Confidence in Taming the Business Cycle: A Grand Illusion? (December 8, 2008)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  For many years economists and central bankers have congratulated themselves on the remarkable stability of US economy...
• Waiting For the Recession Call (October 31, 2008)
  Wall Street Journal
  this blog includes quotes from Robert E. Hall
  The government’s report on third-quarter economic output should be enough to pinpoint the start of the current recession to sometime in the summer of 2008 at the latest...
• Is the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs Severely Wounded? (October 20, 2008)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Will this financial crisis mark a substantial retreat from the world's movement during the past several decades toward a competitive market system?...
• Now that we Own the Banks,... (October 16, 2008)
  Thoughtful Ideas
  by Alvin Rabushka
  We, the American taxpayers, are now part owner of America’s leading banks...
• Why the Warnings were Ignored: Too many False Alarms-Becker (October 14, 2008)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  I will first make a couple of comments on the present situation...
• Government Equity in Private Companies (October 6, 2008)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  The Federal government of the United States has seldom taken an equity interest in private companies, although this has been proposed sometimes, especially as a way to get higher returns on social security assets...
• The Financial Crisis II (September 29, 2008)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  this blog mentions Milton Friedman
  In considering what needs to be done to improve the functioning of the financial system, it is necessary to distinguish steps to avoid a major depression in the near term from long run reforms of the financial system...
• The U.S. Financial Crisis: The China Connection (September 29, 2008)
  Thoughtful Ideas
  by Alvin Rabushka
  For many years, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, his predecessors at Treasury, and other prominent American academics and financiers lectured China on the need to reform its financial system and how to do it...
• The U.S. Financial Crisis: The Bush Connection (September 29, 2008)
  Thoughtful Ideas
  by Alvin Rabushka
  Among the villains in the U.S. financial crisis is President George W. Bush...
• The Crisis of Global Capitalism? (September 22, 2008)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  On Sunday of this past week Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank America, on Monday Lehman Brothers, a venerable major Wall Street investment bank, went into the largest bankruptcy in American history..